Dr. Sarah Dawn Faggert

You should not have alcohol before your treatment. I would, however, recommend that you make sure you are hydrated and go wearing comfortable clothes. Alcohol and too much caffeine can affect the treatment as well as your sensitivity to the needles. Being hydrated will help decrease your sensitivity.

Yes, and before hand too! I like to encourage my patients to drink a little more water then they usually do for the following 24 hours after a treatment. The acupuncture treatment gets the body processes going. Consuming water will help flush any inflammation that has been loosened as well as get oxygen, repair cells and hormones to the areas that need it! Also, even though you have been lying on the table, your body has been working! Refresh it!

Yes, acupuncture is safe for treating chronic and acute neck pain. A trained, licensed acupuncturist will be able to safely and effectively treat your neck for pain relief. I have found in my own clinic that the combination of acupuncture and gua sha is of great relief for those suffering with neck pain.

Yes, acupuncture can help with fertility. It does so by helping to regulate your hormones and period, as well as to create a more receptive and hospitable environment for a fertilized egg. Acupuncture stimulates the production and release of hormones like estrogen and progesterone. It also releases endorphins and serotonin, which help fertility if stress is to blame! In addition, acupuncture helps to send blood flow to the uterus, helping it to relax and open. If conception has already occured, acupuncture can help keep a pregnancy by strenghtening the reproductive organs in their "holding" function and helping to send blood, nutrients and oxygen to the fertilized egg. Acupuncture can also help with the health of sperm in terms of the man and infertility.

Acupuncture is incredibly effective at helping to calm and relax. With that said, it does use needles to do so. I like to say that there is a small pinch during the actual insertion (which takes a fraction of a second); after the needle is inserted, there should not be any pain (i.e. no stinging, stabbing or burning sensations). One might be aware of something there, they may be a dull ache or there may be noticing of the needle at all!

Healing is not always a linear process. Sometimes acupuncture can help an ailment by strengthening the body so that it can "push" the ailment out. For example, someone might experience a worsening of nasal drippage or coughing after getting treatment for a chest cold. The treatment is meant to push the cold up and out of the body, allowing the person to then be treated of the cold. However, acupuncture should not induce any new symptoms nor should you feel worse for more than a few days. If you feel worse for more then a few days, then there may be something else going on unrelated to the acupuncture or the treatment may have been too strong (i.e. too many needles, too much manipulation, etc). If that is the case, please let your practitioner know. Again, sometimes feeling that the symptoms are a little worse for a day or two is normal - and you should feel better then you did prior to treatment after that.

Yes, it absolutely is true! One of the reasons that acupuncture is effective in treating a large number of conditions is because of its' ability to reduce inflammation - which is often the cause of a lot of our complaints (i.e. back pain, arthritis, neck pain, upset stomach). The insertion of the needles helps to trigger a response from the body that A) increases blood and lymphatic circulation (this helps to carry away inflammation and bring in new cells, oxygen and nutrients that) B) come from the parasympathetic ('rest and digest') system, such as endorphins and other feel-good chemicals that help to reduce pain and elimination.

Yes, acupuncture can help with acne and other skin conditions. It can help to reduce the appearance of current acne as well as reduce any scars left behind from acne that might have been picked! Acupuncture helps regulate hormones, a large cause of acne. Acupuncture can also help by increasing blood flow to the face, stimulating new nutrients, cells and oxygen in the area and helping to carry out toxins and excess oil away from the face. Acupuncture can also help by increasing the functioning of the organs of the body which can sometimes play a role in skin issues, such as upset stomachs or bacterial overgrowth in the gut.

Yes, acupuncture can absolutely help with fertility - both with natural conception and assisted conceptions. Acupuncture does this in a number of ways. It helps to relax the mind and body (making the body more receptive to fertilization) and helps blood to flow to the reproductive organs. It can also help with regulation of hormones, the menstrual cycle and egg development.

Yes, acupuncture can be used to help treat depression - as well as help with motivation. Acupuncture helps to stimulate the production and release of various hormones, neurotransmitters and other chemicals that help to regulate our mood. The insertion of the needles into specific areas helps to stimulate specific hormones et. al., like serotonin. Acupuncture is also good at helping to build energy as well. An acupuncturist may also discuss diet, lifestyle and Chinese herbal formulas to help as well.

Yes, acupuncture can help with anxiety attacks - both in decreasing the severity of the attacks as well as the number. I actually suffered from anxiety attacks before I began acupuncture as a patient myself many years ago! In Chinese medicine terms, one would say that acupuncture can help to "calm the Shen or spirit." In western medicine terms, we would say that acupuncture level of hormones, neurotransmitters and other chemicals in our bodies at the proper time. It also helps to relax the muscles and the brain - which in return helps to release proper chemicals, like endorphins, GABA, serotonin, etc.

Absolutely! I have had clinical experience treating neuropathy. A licensed practitioner will be able to help repair nerve damage by stimulating the affected nerves, increasing blood flow (particularly in the affected area) and releasing hormones and neurotransmitters, like endorphins and repair cells. A reduction in pain and numbness has been found as a result of acupuncture treatment of neuropathy as has been substantial decreases in the neuropathy itself. In some cases, patients have reported that all signs of their neuropathy have disappeared. However, nerve damage does take some time to heal and the extent to which yours will heal will differ person to person.

Sometimes patients report feeling worse after acupuncture treatment. However, the symptoms they may experience due to acupuncture treatment working should only be a short increase of the symptoms they already had; i.e. the symptoms or complaint that they came in for. This is called the Law of Cure in that the symptoms appear to get worse, as the treatment is working and helping the body repair itself, before the symptoms are gone or at least decrease. If you did not have a headache before, it could be a number of things. It is possible to have a headache if you came to acupuncture having had alcohol, too much caffeine or were dehydrated. You should always avoid alcohol before treatment as well as making sure that you are hydrated and have eaten a little something. This is because the body is working hard - even if you are lying down. Sometimes, it is possible that too many needles may bring on a headache - particularly if you tend to be predisposed to headaches or other "upper extremity" issues like red eyes, sinus issues, ear pain/pressure or irritability. Of course, it could always be a coincidence as well. I would recommend you try another session, and make sure that you alert your practitioner what you experienced and that you drink plenty of water the day of.

Yes, acupuncture can help lower high blood pressure. Acupuncture activates the parasympathetic nervous system - "rest and digest." This system allows the heart and the muscles to relax, thus lowering blood pressure rates. Acupuncture can also help with any root causes there may be for the high blood pressure, such as poor cardiac functioning.

Yes, it can be safe if you A) see a licensed practitioner and B) avoid the use of electroacupuncture from the neck up.

Absolutely! I have treated several patients for migraines, as well for other severe headaches. Acupuncture can help to reduce the symptoms of a migraine during an actual episode. Long-term, it can also help to not only reduce the number of migraines you may experience but also lessen the quantity and severity of any symptoms you may have that accompany the migraines (i.e. nausea, fatigue, pain, light sensitivity). Some people are even able to find complete relief. However, this depends on the overall health of the patients in addition to the potential cause of the migraines (i.e. some are caused by overuse of medicine, onset of their periods, excessive emotions, etc), and the care they give to going to treatments.

Acupuncutre uses the insertion of thin, filiform needles at specific points on the body. The insertion of these needles causes an immediate response to the central nervous system. More specifically, the parasympathetic nervous system ("rest or digest") is activated; this system is responsible for creating and releasing the production of neurotransmitters, chemicals and hormones like GABA, endorphins, serotonin, etc. into our bloodstream. When we have "anxiety," we may not have the proper levels of chemicals, neurotransmitters, hormones, etc. in our system. This is one way in which acupuncture can help for anxiety. In terms of treatment length, this can vary depending on the severity of your anxiety and your overall health. The more severe or poor your underlying health, the longer treatment may take. As with the start of a vitamin, you may notice some improvements towards the start but it will take consistent visits to get your body to a place where all levels are sorted back out. I would encourage you to give acupuncture a go for at least 8-10 visits and re-evaluate from there

Don't worry - you're not the first person to worry about the potential pain and you certainly won't be the last! A lot of people out there are hesitant to try acupuncture because it does use needles! However, the needles licensed acupuncturists use are much, much thinner than the needles typically used at your primary care practice. Think a fraction of the size. As in, your skin is more likely to hurt the needle (i.e. bend it) than it is to hurt you! However, with that said, needles are sharp objects and we do need to insert them into specific points. So there may be a very quick "pinching" sensation, like what you might feel if a gnat were to bite you. Once the needle is inserted, there should not be any type of pain. Awareness that something is there? Totally normal. But that's not pain. Some people do not feel the needle once it has been inserted. I recommend that people practice deep breathing their first time and have the practitioner insert the needle on the out breath.

Acupuncture can absolutely help knee pain! The National Institutes of Health recommends acupuncture as one of the top treatments for knee pain, i.e. osteoporosis of the knees. A trained practitioner will have you come in for an initial consultation. During that time, they will ask into the knee pain to see where the cause of the pain could be coming from. Depending on that, they will create a strategy to most effectively treat the knee pain. Some ways acupuncture helps? It improves blood flow and reduces inflammation. It helps with any tissue or muscle repair. It can also help with pain by releasing feel-good hormones.

You do not need a diagnosis to receive acupuncture treatment. In fact, even if you have a western diagnosis, during the initial consultation with a trained practitioner, they will often try to determine the true cause of dis-ease via establishing an eastern pattern of disease - which will be a much different diagnosis than any western one you may receive! It will be the practitioner who will determine the treatment, based upon subjective and objective findings. How you respond to each treatment will help them tweak their strategy to best optimize results specifically for you.